Prince documentary receives shocking new details

Ezra Edelman, Oscar-winning director, who helmed the documentary revolving around Prince’s life, just spoke out over Netflix and the late singer’s estate’s decision to scrap the project.

During his appearance on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast, Edelman spoke over the decision saying, "It's a joke."

The director, who was approached by Netflix in 2019 to make a film on the Purple Rain hitmaker, revealed that he and the streamer were to have the final cut while Prince’s estate would have liberty to point out any factual errors in the film, as per The New York Times.

"The estate, here’s the one thing they were allowed to do: Check the film for factual inaccuracies. Guess what? They came back with a 17-page document full of editorial issues — not factual issues," the 50-year-old said, adding, "You think I have any interest in putting out a film that is factually inaccurate?"

Speaking of the contents of the documentary, Edelman said, "This is reflective of Prince himself, who was notoriously one of the most famous control freaks in the history of artists.”

"The irony being that Prince was somebody who fought for artistic freedom, who didn’t want to be held down by Warner Bros., who he believed was stifling his output. And now, in this case — by the way, I’m not Prince, but I worked really hard making something, and now my art’s being stifled and thrown away," he added.

Edelman continued, "The lawyer who runs the estate essentially said he believed that this would do generational harm to Prince. In essence, that the portrayal of Prince in this film — what people learn about him — would deter younger viewers and fans, potentially, from loving Prince. They would be turned off."

"This is, I think, the big issue here: I’m like, ‘This is a gift — a nine-hour treatment about an artist that was, by the way, f***ing brilliant.’ Everything about who you believe he is in this movie. You get to bathe in his genius. And yet you also have to confront his humanity, which he, by the way, in some ways, was trapped in not being able to expose because he got trapped in his own myth about who he was to the world, and he had to maintain it," Ezra Edelman concluded.

For the unversed, the upcoming documentary on the late legendary musician, titled, The Book of Prince, was shelved by Netflix and the singer’s estate, with the decision being announced on February 7.